The Lion and the Mouse
Aesop's Fables
The lion was proud and strong, and king of the jungle. One day while he was sleeping, a tiny mouse ran over his face. The great lion awoke with a snarl. He caught the mouse with one mighty paw and raised the other to squash the creature who had annoyed him.
"Oh please, mighty lion!" squeaked the mouse," please do not kill me. let me go, I beg you. If you do, one day I may be able to help in some way."
This greatly amused the lion. The thought that such a small and frighted creature as a mouse might be able to help the king of the jungle was so funny that he did not have the heart to kill the mouse.
"Go away" he growled.
A few days later, a party of hunters came into the jungle. They decided to try to capture the lion. They climbed two trees, one on each side of the path, and held a net over the path. Later in the day the lion came loping along the path. At once the hunters dropped their net on the great beast. The lion roared and fought mightily, but he could not escape from the net.
The hunters went off to eat, leaving the lion trapped in the net, unable to move. The lion roared for help, but the only creature in the jungle that dared come near was the tiny mouse.
"Oh, it's you," groaned the lion. "There's nothing you can do to help me. You're too small."
"I may be small," said the mouse, "but I have sharp teeth and I owe you a god turn!"
Then the mouse began to nibble at the net. Before long he had made a hole big enough to allow the lion to crawl through and make his escape into the jungle.
MORAL: Sometimes the weak are able to help the strong.
Aesop's Fables
The lion was proud and strong, and king of the jungle. One day while he was sleeping, a tiny mouse ran over his face. The great lion awoke with a snarl. He caught the mouse with one mighty paw and raised the other to squash the creature who had annoyed him.
"Oh please, mighty lion!" squeaked the mouse," please do not kill me. let me go, I beg you. If you do, one day I may be able to help in some way."
This greatly amused the lion. The thought that such a small and frighted creature as a mouse might be able to help the king of the jungle was so funny that he did not have the heart to kill the mouse.
"Go away" he growled.
A few days later, a party of hunters came into the jungle. They decided to try to capture the lion. They climbed two trees, one on each side of the path, and held a net over the path. Later in the day the lion came loping along the path. At once the hunters dropped their net on the great beast. The lion roared and fought mightily, but he could not escape from the net.
The hunters went off to eat, leaving the lion trapped in the net, unable to move. The lion roared for help, but the only creature in the jungle that dared come near was the tiny mouse.
"Oh, it's you," groaned the lion. "There's nothing you can do to help me. You're too small."
"I may be small," said the mouse, "but I have sharp teeth and I owe you a god turn!"
Then the mouse began to nibble at the net. Before long he had made a hole big enough to allow the lion to crawl through and make his escape into the jungle.
MORAL: Sometimes the weak are able to help the strong.